A collection of newsworthy information as reported from newspapers, magazines, and blogs.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Falsely Accused

Conservatives falsely
accused President Obama of being influenced by William (Bill) Ayers but, says
nothing about Paul Ryan’s implementation of Russian Atheist – Ayn Rand monetary
policy. Rand used words such as “refuse”
and “parasites” to describe the poor, while celebrating millionaire businessmen
as heroes. She abhorred government
social programs, such as Social Security, at least until she reached the age of
eligibility, and reportedly signed on for both its benefits and those of Medicare. Ayn Rand’s views of selfishness have left a
more lasting legacy in the policies that Paul Ryan and Willard Mitt Romney
embrace.

Obama did not have a
close relationship with William (Bill) Ayers. Yet, the matter was
initially raised bySean Hannity and
other conservative talk radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh. ModeratorGeorge Stephanopoulous
brought the issue up during a debate between Clinton and Obama in April
2008. In October 2008, the matter was mentioned inattack ads, robocalls, mass
mailings, and campaign speeches byRepublican presidential
candidateJohn McCain and
vice presidential candidateSarah
Palin as an issue in the general election campaign.

Ryan’s Rand references have been so frequent and impassioned that “he
can no more denounce Rand than he can denounce his own white grandmother.” Rand’s works were an early and important
influence on him, shaping his thinking as far back as highschool. Later, as a Congressman, Ryan not only tried
to get all of the interns in his congressional office to read Rand’s writing,
he also gave copies of her novel “Atlas Shrugged” to his staff as Christmas
presents. In 2005, Paul Ryan
explained that he often looks to Ayn Rand’s novel “Atlas Shrugged” as
inspiration for his views on monetary policy.
Ryan paid fealty to Rand in a speech he gave to the Atlas Society, the
Washington-based think tank devoted to keeping Rand’s “objectivist” philosophy
alive. He credited her with inspiring his interest in public service, saying,
“[T]he reason I got involved in public service, by and large, if I had to
credit one thinker, one person, it would be Ayn Rand. And the fight we are in
here, make no mistake about it, is a fight of individualism versus
collectivism.”